Phase two of an EU-funded project renovates a 15 km section of the E30/C-E30 rail track between Kraków and Rzeszów in Poland to complete the upgrading of 138.7 km of track linking some of the most important cities in the south of the country with destinations further afield, such as Berlin and Dresden. The improved link will contribute towards stimulating pan-European trade and making the rail network a fast and attractive option for passengers and freight.
- 29 November 2016
The 15 km section is part of a cross-border E30 rail line that begins in Berlin, runs through Dresden to the east and then crosses the border into Poland at Görlitz-Zgorzelec as part of the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The line then continues on to southern Polish cities including Legnica, Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków and Rzeszów, before continuing on across the border and into Ukraine.
The renovation of this route is therefore of critical economic importance, not only to Poland but to the whole of central and eastern Europe.
Making rail attractive
The renovation work includes upgrading the line to enable trains to travel at much quicker speeds; the maximum speed for passenger traffic will be 160km/h, while freight traffic will travel at 120 km/h.
These goals will be achieved by modernising track systems and subgrade and putting in place state-of-the-art rail traffic control systems and power supplies. To improve passenger comfort new station platforms will be built, and the majority of vehicle and pedestrian level crossings will be eliminated in order to reduce obstacles and improve safety. In their place, existing engineering structures such as bridges and tunnels will be refurbished and new ones built where necessary.
Green benefits
The full upgrading of 138.7 km of track in both phases required the construction of 44 animal crossings and ecologic corridors to ensure that natural habitats surrounding the rail line are not adversely affected. Both phases required the building of 44 bridges and 96 viaducts.
The project forms an integral part of an ambitious plan to transform some 700 km of railway across several Polish regions.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Modernizacja linii kolejowej E30/C-E30, odcinek Kraków-Rzeszów, etap III – Faza II (Phase II)” is EUR 196 133 650, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 109 727 850 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014 - 2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Development of railway transport in Poland”.